KARACHI, May 24: The Sindh High Court on Thursday stayed the accountability court order asking the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to file a reference against Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Syed Khursheed Shah within 30 days.

A division bench headed by Justice Maqbool Baqar alsoissued notices to thefederal law secretary and others for June 12 after the preliminary hearing of a constitutional petition of the minister seeking an injunction against the direction of the administrative judge of the accountability court to the NAB chairman with regard to the filing of the reference.

The administrative judge had on May 12 rejected a NAB application for winding up of inquiries against Mr Shah, a Pakistan People`s Party leader.The NAB had sought disposal of the inquiries against the federal minister, initiated during the rule of former president Pervez Musharraf, maintaining that no sufficient evidence was found against him. The inquiries pertained to alleged accumulation ofwealth and assets beyond Mr Shah`s known sources of income.

The petitioner`s counsel Raza Rabbani and Salim Salam Ansari submitted that the impugned order was beyond the jurisdiction of the accountability court as only NAB chairman was authorised to file reference against a person if sufficient evidence was found against him.

The counselprayed to the court to set aside the impugned order of the accountability court.

NAB deputy prosecutor general Syed Amjad Hussain waived notice on the petition and requested the court to grant him time for filing comments on the matter.

The bench ordered a status quo to be maintained on the impugned order of accountability court till June 12.

Judgment reserved in Arbab case A division bench headed by Justice Munib Akhtar reserved its judgment on a petition against the Sindh Assembly decision of unseat-ing former Sindh chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim.

The court had on April 14 suspended the assembly decision and on May 19 it also suspended the notification of the Election Commission of Pakistan for a by-election in his Tharparkar constituency (PS-60).

The petition was filed by Arbab Inayat Ullah, son of Dr Arbab Rahim, challenging the assembly`s decision to unseat his father for failing to attend sessions for at least 40 consecutive days.

Dr Arbab, who was elected member of the assembly in 2008, has remained absent from the assembly after a shoe attack on him in April 2008 soon after the oath-taking ceremony. On March 22 this year, the assembly unseated him through a resolution. Later, the house declared his seat vacant.

Dr Arbab has been living abroadfor the lastfouryears for security concerns.

His counsel Advocate Rasheed A. Razvi through a petition submitted in court that his client`s each leave application sent to the house should have been considered separately under the rules ofbusiness but they were piled up and then disposed of altogether on a single day.

The counsel further submitted that his client was actually victimised because he did not support government`s candidates in the recent Senate elections.

He contended that the assembly`s decision of unseating him and declaring his seat vacant was unconstitutional.

He prayed to the court to declare the decision unlawful and order the restoration of his seat.

Advocate Razvi stated that under the rules the provincial assembly might declare the seat of a member vacant if, without leave of the assembly, the member remained absent for 40 consecutive days of its sittings.

He contended that in fact only 38 days passed before the notification declaring his seat vacant was issued and, therefore, the constitutional mandate in this regard had not been observed.

In other words, he argued, the relevant rule was not applicable since the minimum number of days had not passed.